Try This - 2 Important Shares On Air Quality

Air quality has been on my mind a lot lately. After the LA fires, air quality in my area has dropped significantly, and there’s a great deal of emerging science on the connection between poor air and chronic disease. 

Today I’m sharing some new research on air quality that I’m paying attention to, along with a recent story about toxic air in my own kitchen and what I’m doing about it.

Let’s get into it. 

New Research Strengthens the Connection Between Air Pollution and Parkinson’s Disease

Hot off the press! A brand-new study published in Movement Disorders adds to the growing evidence connecting air pollution to Parkinson's disease, a topic we've explored before with past podcast guest and Parkinson's researcher Dr. Ray Dorsey.

The study examined more than 5.3 million older adults in South Korea, including over 143,000 who developed Parkinson's disease. Researchers found that greater exposure to two common outdoor air pollutants, PM2.5 (tiny airborne particles) and ground-level ozone, was associated with a small but statistically significant increase in Parkinson's risk.

What's fascinating is how these pollutants may affect the brain. As we’ve talked about before, scientists believe tiny particles can potentially reach the brain through our bloodstream or pathways connected to our sense of smell, contributing to inflammation, oxidative stress, and damage to dopamine-producing neurons.

Here's something else worth considering…

This study focused on outdoor air pollution, but what about the air inside our homes? According to the EPA, levels of certain indoor pollutants can be 2 to 5 times higher than outdoors, and occasionally more than 100 times higher, thanks to things like cooking fumes (see below), off-gassing from furniture, and poor ventilation.

While this study didn't examine indoor air pollution, it's reasonable to wonder whether these additional exposures could contribute to our overall neurological health burden. And considering that we spend roughly 90% of our time indoors, we need to be mindful of indoor air. 

We've talked a lot in past editions of Try This about the importance of protecting ourselves from poor air quality, especially inside our homes. This research is another reminder of why I believe the air we breathe deserves just as much attention as the food we eat and the water we drink.

A special thanks to Dr. Michael Okun, neurologist and National Medical Advisor to the Parkinson's Foundation, for bringing this study to my attention.

Uh-oh, My Stove Broke: High PM2.5 in My Kitchen

Speaking of PM2.5…I’ve probably talked about the importance of proper kitchen ventilation a hundred times in Try This. Well, this past week, I got a pretty powerful reminder to take my own advice!

My Viking stove recently broke, and while waiting for replacement parts, I ordered a temporary induction cooktop from Amazon. The problem? My kitchen ventilation system was also out of commission because we had to shut off the power to everything.

So the other day, while cooking, I started getting all these alerts from my Airthings air quality monitor (which I highly recommend). When I looked at the screen, I was shocked. My PM2.5 had skyrocketed to 95!

For context, my PM2.5 levels at home are usually around 0 to 1 because we have great air filtration throughout the house. Even when cooking, levels in my kitchen typically only jump to around 7 to 15 before quickly coming back down.

But this time, with no working ventilation and a window I forgot to open, the pollution lingered. Nearly an hour later, my PM2.5 was still around 45 to 50!

And this matters because PM2.5 doesn't just potentially affect your brain. Research has linked long-term exposure to increased inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction (impaired functioning of the lining of our blood vessels), and a greater risk of heart disease and stroke.

To put my reading into perspective, a PM2.5 concentration of 95 µg/m³ is comparable to the air pollution levels experienced in some of the world's most polluted cities on bad air quality days. 

Now, I'm not losing sleep over one afternoon of elevated PM2.5. But it got me thinking about how many people cook two or three times a day, rarely or never turn on their ventilation fans, and don't realize how much pollution they may be breathing in.

Multiply those exposures over years or decades, and you can start to see why this would be an issue. We know that long-term exposure to fine particulate pollution is associated with several health problems, and emerging research, including the Parkinson's study I shared above, raises important questions about its impact on brain health.

My reminder to myself (and to you): Don't overlook the basics. Turn on your kitchen ventilation, open a window when outdoor air quality is good, and consider a HEPA air purifier in the kitchen if your air really sucks!

P.S. You can also see in the upper right of the image that my VOC (volatile organic compound) reading was quite elevated. My suspicion is that the plastic components of the temporary induction cooktop, combined with the heat and lack of ventilation, may have contributed to the spike. Anyway, when in doubt, ventilate, ventilate, ventilate!

Much love, 
Dhru Purohit 

The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice; please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making any health-related decisions.